Traction-engine.



No. 640,955. Patented lan. 9, |900.

R. RUSSELL.

TRCTIDN ENGINE.

(Application lbd Apr. 21, 1899.| (No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet No. 640,955. Patented 1an. 9, terno.

R. RUSSELL.

TRACTION ENGINE.

(Application led Apr. 21, 1899.) l (No Model.; 2 sheets-sheet 2.

ff g l READ RUSSELL, OF WARREN, ILLINOIS.

TRACTIONENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,955, dated January e, 190e. Application filed April 21, 1899. Serial No. '713,950- (ND mOdBl- T0 @ZZ when?, t may concern:

Be it known that I, READ RUSSELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Warren, in the county of Jo Daviess and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traction-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in traction-engines, andqmore particularly to the gearing employed in driving the samefoi'- Ward and backward.

It consists in a traction-engine having a suitable frame, a motormounted thereon and adapted to operate a power-shaft in one direction, and gearing connecting the said powershaft with the driving-wheels of the machine, whereby the engine may be reversed without reversing the motor or stopping the same.

It also consists of certain other novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved traction-en gine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the same. Fig. 3 represents a detail view illustrating the kind of clutches used upon the balance or fly wheels. Fig. 4 represents a detail inV vertical section of the same. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailview illustrating the guiding mechanism of the machine. Fig. 6 represents adetail View showing the construction of a differential gear which may be employed in connection with the engine. Fig. 7 represents a `detail sectional vieW through one of the clutch-shifting collars. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective View of the frame holding the clutch-shoes on the fly-wheels. Fig. 9 is a detail view of` the means for operating the said shoes. Fig. 10 is a detail vertical section through the gearing for operating the guiding mechanism, and Fig.

11 is a detail section al view through thegearing upon one end of the main power-shaft.

1 in the drawings represents the frame of my improved traction-engine; 2, a motor mounted thereon; 3, a main power-shaft,and e a canopy.

My invention is designed to make it possible to use motors which are not easily reversed, particularly gas-engines, for propelling road or traction engines, and to carry out this feature, as well as to provide for the reversing of the engine, without stopping the motor, I have designed my improved form of gearing for actuating the device. I prefer to place the driving-wheels, as 5, Vof my traction-engine in the front, guiding the vehicle by means of the steering-wheels placed at the rear. The driver or operator of the engine will therefore stand upon a platform, as '7,- at the rear ofthe machine, and the mechanism for controlling the operating parts will be arranged within easy reach of the operator standing upon the said platform. The motor 2 is preferably arranged a little for; ward of the platform 7 and can be easily controlled by the engineer. The motor 2 may be of any desired construction; but at present I prefer to employ a gas-engine of suitable power to drive the Vehicle. Forward of the gas-engine 2 the Vmain shaft 3 is mounted in suitable bearings supported upon the Vframe 1, the said shaft extending beyond the bearings and having secured to their outer ends fly-wheels S S. Between each of the iiykwheels and the frame 1 are located gears 10 and 11, which run loosely upon the shaft 3 and are adapted to be secured to the fly-wheels in the proper manner, so as to turn Wit-h the shaft 3 when desired. The shaft 3 is provided centrally with a crank, as 9, connected. with the piston of the motor by a pitman in the i usual manner. The gear-wheel 10 is adapted to be connected with the axle of the drivingwheels 5 in such a manner as to propel the vehicle forward, while the gear-wheel 11 is adapted to be connected/with the said driving-axle by an independent train of gearing, so that the mechanism may be backed. Between the powershaft 3 and the driving-shaft 12 are mounted counter-shafts 13, 14, 15, and 16. The shaft 15 carries at one end a gearwheel, as 17, which meshes with a gear-wheel 10, said gear-Wheel 17 also meshing with a gear-Wheel 18, which runs loosely upon one end of the shaft 13.

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The gear-wheel 18 is The said shaft 13 also carries a gear-wheel 21, which is splined on the said shaft and meshes with a differential gear-wheel 22 upon the shaft 12. When the clutch members 19 and 20 are brought together and the gear-wheel 10 is thrown into engagement with the flywheel 8, power will be communicated from the power-shaft to the driving-shaft 12 to propel the vehicle forward. The gear-wheel 11 engages a gear-wheel 23 upon the end of the shaft 16, which meshes with a gear 24 upon the end of the shaft 14. The gear 24 also meshes with a gear-wheel 25, running loosely upon the shaft 13. Upon the inner side of the gear 25 is secured a clutch member 26, adapted to engage a corresponding clutch member 27, secured to the pinion 21 upon the shaft 13, the said pinion 21 engaging the differential gear 22, secured to the main shaft 12, as heretofore described. When the clutch members 26 and 27 are brought into engagement and the gear-wheel 11 is connected with the iy-wheel 8, motion will be imparted from the motor to the axle 12 in such a manner as to move the vehicle rearwardly. The clutch member 2O and the pinion 21 are connected by means of a rod 28, the said rod 28 being provided with suitable yokes at its ends for engaging grooves on the hubs of the said clutch member and the said pinion. A bellcrank lever 28n engages the said rod 28 to operate the same, and a rod connects the said bell-crank lever 28a with a hand operatinglever 28h, arranged in reach of the operator of the vehicle. Vhen the rod 28 is moved in one direction, the clutch members 19 and 2O are brought into engagement for turning the vehicle forward while the clutch members 26 and 27 are separated. When the rod 28 is moved in the opposite direction, the operation is reversed.

The manner of connecting the gear-wheels 10 and 11 with the fly-wheels 8 also forms an important feature of my invention. The gear-wheel 10 is preferably formed with a sleeve or hub 29, which carries another gearwheel 30, preferably larger than the gearwheel10. The gear-wheel 30 is adapted to be brought into engagement with a smaller gear-wheel or pinion 31, mounted upon the shaft 15. It will be noted that when the gear-wheel 10 engages the gear-wheel 17 a slower speed will be imparted to the vehicle, but with greater power, and when the gearwheel 30 is brought into engagement with the pinion 31 the speed will be increased, but the power diminished, in either case without changing the motion or speed of the flywheels. The sleeve 29, carrying the gearwheels 10 and 30, is preferably splined upon the inner sleeve which is loosely mounted upon the shaft 3. Upon the outer end of the sleeve 32 is a collar 33, which is also splined to the said sleeve 32', so as to move longitudinally thereon, but to actuate the same when it is rotated. It will thus appear that the gear-wheels 10 and 30 may be moved longitudinally upon the sleeve 32 without such moving affecting the collar 33 and that the' and 34 are mounted the frames 36, said framesy 36 being preferably provided with four arms, said arms being connected in pairs by 'strengthening brace-rods, as 39 and 40. In

the ends of the brace-rods 39 are slots adapted to receive pins or set-screws which pivotally secure the shoes 37 and 38 to the ends of the said rod 39. These set-screws enable me to take up any slack or wear in the parts after they have been in use. The brace-rod 40 is also provided with slots in its ends which engage pins secured to the other ends of the shoes 37, said pins being adapted to move loosely in the said slots. Each of the collars 33 and 35 carries an arm 41, which extends upwardly to a suitable distance and is connected with each of the shoes 37 by means of rods 42. The rods 42 are preferably hinged to the ends of the bars 41, as shown in Fig. 9, and are pivotally connected to the shoes 37. The parts are so disposed that when the collars are moved outwardly upon the shaft 3 the bars 41 will spread the rods 42 apart, thus forcing the shoes against the peripheries of the iiy-wheels 8, thereby communicating motion from the liy-wheels, through the shoes and the frame supporting them, to the said collars and to the gear-wheels which are connected with the same. vVlhen the collars are moved inwardly, the shoes will be released from their frictional contact with the said fly-wheels, and they will cease to communicate motion to the parts. The rods 42 may be provided with suitable turnbuckles to adjust them to the proper length, if desired. In order to throw the collars, with their clutches, into and out of engagement with the fly-wheels 8, the grooves of the sleeves 33 and`35 are connected by means of a rod 43, said rod having yokes, as 44, depending from its ends and carrying friction-rollers 45 45, which engage the grooves in the said collars, as clearly seen in Fig. 7 of the drawings. The collars are so connected by the said rod 43 that when one is moved, so as to operate its clutch, the clutch connected with the other collar will be free, and when it is moved in the other direction the position of the clutches will be reversed. The rod can of course be held in an intermediate position to free both clutches simultaneously when changing the direction or when not propelling the vehicle.

In order to operate the rod 43, I preferably IOO IIO

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employ a bell-crank lever 46, pivoted to the frame-1 and connected to the said rod at one end, while its other end is connected by means of a link 47 with a hand operating-lever 48, located within easy reach of the operator of the vehicle. The usual notched segmental rack, as 49, may be employed to hold the said lever 48 in its different positions.

In order to move the gears 10 and 30 back and. forth upon the sleeve 32, the hub of the wheel 30 is provided with a grooved portion, as 50, which is engaged by a yoke secured to a rod 5l. A bell-crank lever 52 engages the said rod and is in turn connected by the link 53 with an operating-lever 54, similar to the lever 48, just described.

It will be apparent from the above description that the motor 2 may be set into operation and may be run continually, and when it is desired to move the engine forward the clutches 19 and 20 will first be brought into engagement and the clutch upon that side of the machine willthen be caused to engage the fly-wheel 8, thus producing the desired result. When the engine is to be reversed, the motor need not be disturbed in its operation, but the fly-wheel clutch is released and the clutches 26 and. 27 are brought into engagement, the clutches 19 and 2O at the same time being separated, after which the flywheel clutch on the left side of the machine is brought into engagement with its fly-wheel, communicating the desired rearward movement to the vehicle. By the use of these flywheel clutches the parts may be changed without any harm to them and without slackening the speed of the main power-shaft 3.

The driving-wheels 5 are preferably made broad and with engaging projections, so that they are capable of propelling the vehicle over ground of any character. It is desirable, especially when the vehicle is being turned., that one of the drive-wheels 5 shall be so connected with the other that they may accommodate themselves to the difference in speed required when rounding a curve, and for this purpose I preferably mount the differential gear 22, of usual construction, upon the shaft 12. In order'not to weaken the construction of the shaft 12, I preferably telescope one end thereof, as at 55, within that portion 56 which is secured to the other drive-wheel 5, as

clearly seen in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

In order to guide the vehicle and to direct thesame perfectly in its course, I preferably mount the steering-Wheels 6 upon separate shafts, as 57. These shafts or skeins 57 are provided with upwardly and downwardly extending studs, as 5S, which engage bearings formed in the plates 59 and 60, secured to opposite ends of a bolster or beam, as 6l. The skeins 57 are also provided with .forwardly-extending levers, as 62, which are hinged or pivotally secured to the ends of rackbars 63, each of the saidrack-bars extending beyond the central line of the machine, the free ends of the said bars lying one above the other, as seen in Fig. 5. A pinion, as 64, en-

gages the teeth upon the rack-bars 63 and is secured to the lower end of a-vertical shaft 65, which projects upwardly through. the frame of the machine and is provided at its upper end with a hand operating-wheel, as 66, within easy reach of the engineer. The pinion 64 is specially constructed to engage both of said racks, it having teeth of sufficient width for this purpose. In order to support the racks, annular projections 67 and 68 are formed in the said pinion 64, so as to properly guide the said racks. It will be seen that by turning the hand-wheel 66 the rack-bars 63 may be actuated so as to turn the guiding- Wheels 6 to one side or the other, according as it may be desired to direct the machine.

In order that the rear wheels of the machine may accommodate themselves to any unevenness of the ground over which they pass, the bolster 61 is preferably formed with a centrally-raised portion, as at 69, which engages a body-bolster 70,secured to the under side of the frame l. It' desired, coil-springs, as 71, of suitable strength may be interposed between the ends of the bolster 6l and the bolster 70.

I find that a vehicle of this character can be more positively directed in its movement byplacing the guide-wheels at the rear of the machine. Of course the order of the parts might be reversed, the steering-wheels being made the front wheels of the vehicle, without departing in the least from the spirit of my invention.

It is very desirable to shelter the engineer from the sun or weather by means of a suitable canopy, as 4, which may be erected upon standards extending upwardly from the frame 1.

Itwill be evident from the above description that I am enabled to produce a tractione'ngine in which the motor may be run continually in one direction and from which power may be obtained to propel the vehicle forward or to reverse it, and this without stopping the movement of the motor or reversing its operation. l The parts are also simple in construction and easy of manipulation and not likely to get out of order.

While I prefer to use a gas-motor in connection with my traction-engine, yet it will be apparent that I may employ a steam or electric or any other style of motor without departing from the spirit of my invention. The device is particularly well adapted for use with a gas-motor, however, because gasmotors are not easily reversed, and by the use of my improved machine it is not necessary to reverse the motor, as the same object is accomplished by the use of the reversinggear.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is`

l. In a traction-engine, the combination with a suitable frame, of a motor mounted IIO thereon and adapted to operate a power-shaft, iiy-wheels carried by the said shaft, independent trains of gearing connected with the driving-shaft of the vehicle, one train of gearing being adapted to impart a forward movement to the vehicle, and the other train of gearing being adapted to move the vehicle in the opposite direction, and means for connecting the said trains of gearing with their fly-wheels alternately without stopping the same for driving. the vehicle forward or reversing the same, substantially as described.

2. In a traction-engine, the combination with a suitable frame, of a motor mounted thereon, a power-shaft adapted to receive a continuons revolution in one direction therefrom, fly-wheels secured to said power-shaft, pinions loosely mounted upon the said shaft, a train of intermeshing gear-wheels connecting each of the said pinions with the drivingshaft of the vehicle, there being more gearwheels in one of said trains of gearing than in the other, whereby they will impart motion in different directions to the vehicle, frictionclutches interposed between each of the pinions and the rims of the fly-wheels, and means for bringing the friction-clutches into engagement with the said rim alternately, whereby the vehicle may be propelled forward or may be reversed without stopping or reversing the engine, substantially as described.

3. A traction-engine comprising a suitable frame havingan enginethereon,a power-shaft mounted upon the said frame adapted to receive its motion from the said engine, flywheels upon the said power-shaft, pinionsv loosely mounted upon the said power-shaft, a gear-wheel secured to the drive-shaft of the vehicle, a train of gearing connecting one of said pinions with the said gear-wheel on the driving-shaft, comprising two intermeshing gears, an actuating-pinion having clutches secured to it, one of which is adapted to engage a clutch upon one of the said gears, said pinion actuating the gear on the drivingshaft, a train of gearing interposed between the other pinion upon the power-shaft and the said gear-wheel on the driving-shaft, comprising three intermeshing gears and aclutch adapted to engage the other clutch of the actuating-pinion, and clutches for connecting the pinions upon the power-shaft with the iiywheels thereon, and means for operating the clutches upon each side of the machine,where by the vehicle may be propelled in one direction or the other according to the train of gear which is thrown into operation, substantially as described.

4. In a traction-engine, the combination with a suitable frame, of a motor mounted thereon, a power-shaft operated by the said motor carrying fly-wheels at each end, loose pinions mounted upon the said power-shaft, separate trains of intermeshing gear-wheels, connecting the said pinions with the drivingshaft of the vehicles, clutches controlling said trains of gearing and clutches interposed between the loose pulleys and the ily-wheels, said clutches comprising friction-shoes pivotally mounted upon a frame or yoke on the power-shaft, and connected by pivoted links with an arm connected with each of the pinions, said pivoted links being connected with each of the shoes, the construction being such that by forcing the said arms in one direction with respect to the shaft, the shoes may be spread apart by means of the pivoted links so as to engage the rims of the fiy-wheels and when the arms are moved in the opposite direction, the shoes will be released, substantially as described.

5. A traction-engine, comprising a frame' having a motor adapted to operate a powershaft, liy-wheels secured to the said powershaft, trains of gearing connecting the powershaft with the driving-shaft of the vehicle, two clutches for controlling each train of gearing, a rod connecting the clutches upon the driving-shaft and a similar rod connecting the other two clutches, and means for operating the said rod, the construction being such that the trains of gearing may be so disposed as to move the vehicle in one direction or the other at will, substantially as described.

6. In a traction-engine, the combination with a suitable motor, of trains of gearing connecting the said motor with the drivewheel of the machine, iiy-wheels upon the main shaft of the motor, pinions upon the said shaft for engaging the trains of gearing, one of said pinions having a hub or sleeve carrying a larger gear-wheel, said larger gear-wheel being adapted to engage a smaller pinion in one of the trains of gearing, and means for moving the said pinion and the gear-wheel which it carries so that the speed of the vehicle may be regulated at will, substantially as described.

7. In a traction-engine, the combination with a suitable motor, of trains of gearing for connecting the same with the drivin gwheels, pinions upon each side of the machine for operating the trains of gearing, the pinion upon one side being splined upon the sleeve which runs loosely upon the main power-shaft, a collar also splined upon the said sleeve, a clutch interposed between the said collar and the fly-wheel of the engine, the construction being such that the gear-wheels may be moved upon the said sleeve to change the speed of the vehicle and the collar may also be moved upon the said sleeve to bring the gearing into and out of engagement with the fly-wheel, substantially as described.

8. In a traction-engine, the combination with a suitable motor, of a power-shaft driven thereby, two trains of gearing for connecting the power-shaft with the drive-shaft of the vehicle, intermediate shafting interposed between the power-shaft and the driving-shaft, an actuating-pinion upon one of said shafts, clutches secured to each side of the said actuating-pinions and adapted to engage corresponding clutches secured to the trains of IOO gearing, a rod for moving the said pinion and ing, the Vehicle will be propelled backward, 1o clutches, and means for connecting the two substantially as described. trains of gearing with the fly-wheels of the In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my engine for imparting movement thereto, the signature in presence of two witnesses.

5 construction being such that When the clutches connected with the actuating-pinions READ RUSSELL' are moved in one direction the Vehicle will be Witnesses: propelled forward and when the clutches are E. T. FENWIGK,

moved so as to engage the other train of gear- JOHN L. FLETCHER. 

